The Talent Show
by Archer 250
Summary: High school drama: Leo joins a band that competes in his school's talent show.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One – The advertisement**

Friday, the last day of school days, has come.

Leo was trying as hard as he can not to fall asleep in class. He hated math, and the robot teaching the class bored him greatly.

The alarm rang; the class was over. Every student hurriedly packed and made for the door, eager to leave the accursed classroom.

Leo looked around; a certain friend of his wasn't there anymore. He packed and left and soon caught up with his friend.

"Hey Aeris, you know what I've just found in Modern Warfare 3 yesterday?" Leo asked his pink friend,

"No, and I don't give a fuck!" she replied, and continued walking.

"A hacker!" Leo said, ignoring Aeris.

"Leo, shut up," she stopped walking, "I'm stressed by the amount of homework that prick has given us."

"And unlike you, Leo, I actually care about my grades," She retorted "So I can't just pretend he never gave us any."

That hurt Leo's feelings a bit; his parents were not happy with his recent grades.

"Uh, see you at the apartment, then" Leo said, and walked away.

Leo walked through the crowed corridor, looking around every now and then.

Then he noticed a poster; it featured two cats —that he recognized as the new students in his class— pointing towards the general direction of the reader, behind them was a set of drums. The poster said:

"Hellkatz wants YOU! We're currently looking for a rhythm guitarist, a vocalist, and a bassist for our speed metal band. If you think you qualify, meet us at the old studio room on Saturday (13:00-16:30)

Benefits of joining: Money, chicks, and extra grades added by our teachers."

Leo smiled after reading the ad; "Extra grades, money, and free pussies. Great!"

**I've always wanted to write an OC fic, but I don't know what to write about. After watching documentaries of metal bands, I had the inspiration to write a fic based on the bands.**


	2. Chapter 2 The Audition

**Chapter 2 – The Audition**

Leo dressed as formal as he could for the audition; he wanted to make a good impression. He wanted to be the rhythm guitarist; he couldn't sing and basslines are too hard for him. He was now tired and his hand was sore; he practiced playing the guitar the night before.

"How hard could it be?" Leo often said to himself, "After all, I have taken lessons as a kid."

When he judged that the time was ripe, he sped out of his apartment, passing a bewildered Aeris on his way out.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Aeris thought, "He's probably up to something stupid."

Leo took a taxi to his school and ran to the now-unused studio. He looked at his watch before entering; it was a quarter to four. Leo took a moment to catch his breath, then opened the door and marched in. In the room were a human and two cats; one white and the other was ginger.

"Bassist and vocalist positions are taken," said the white cat, "So unless you're auditioning for the rhythm guitarist position, you can turn tail and go home."

"Actually, I am here for the rhythm guitarist position." Leo replied.

"Ok, have you ever played one of these before?" the white cat pointed to a Jackson Kelly guitar which hung on the wall.

"No, but I have played acoustic." Leo answered.

"Jason, plug the guitar into an amp for Mr. Leonardo, please." he said to the young man. Jason complied and gave the guitar to Leo with a pick.

"You know my name?" Leo asked.

"Of course," the white cat laughed, "Who the hell doesn't know the biggest retard in our class?"

"So what are you waiting for?" he asked Leo, "Start playing the damn thing!"

Leo started playing the chords of AC/DC's _Highway to Hell_.

"Stop," the white cat said, "Play a faster song."

So Leo played_ Thunderstruck_.

"Don't you know any faster songs?" the cat asked, "Like this."

He picked up his Ibanez RG350MP and played what Leo recognized as the main riff of Metallica's _Master of Puppets_.

"That's too fast for me." said Leo.

The white cat leaned forward and gave Leo a look, "Let me get this straight; you're auditioning for a speed metal band," he said "But you can't play faster than 60bpm?"

Leo tried to make think up an excuse, but failed.

"What compels you to audition for this position, Mr. Leonardo?" the white cat asked him, "Free grades and free girls?"

Leo nodded, those were exactly the reasons. And in the room, there was silence. A silence that was louder than words, and it filled the room with a chilling suspense. Leo looked out of the window; it was bleak and overcast.

Finally the white cat broke the silence: "We're going to decide whether you can join us or not. It's best if you wait outside."

Leo walked out of the door, leaned against the wall and slumped down. He imagined himself back in his room, playing his Xbox with his best friend. Maybe that's how his life should be, and how it should remain. Leo has always wanted to be a rock star since he was a child and now he was seventeen, but his dream is crumbling. He knew that the band would dismiss him and find themselves another auditionee. All his hopes of getting easy credits and grades would be dashed, and he would fail if he doesn't study.

Back inside the room, the two cats and the young man discussed on the situation.

"This guy has the potential, but we only have four fucking months to write songs and practice. I'm not going to waste any time instructing him!" said the white cat.

"He's a 'lovable idiot' kind of guy, he'll attract us attention." the ginger cat replied

"I don't need attention, Jimmy, I just need a fucking rhythm guitarist." the white cat retorted.

"We'll be competing against other schools _and_ our school's veterans. We need the attention to get big," said Jimmy, the ginger cat, "Plus, he's good looking. With him, our band would get attention like a Disney boyband."

"I hate those talentless fags," the white cat replied "You know that."

"Yes, but then again, we're going to play thrash and speed metal." said Jimmy.

The white cat submitted, and gestured at Jason; "Bring him back in."

After a time that seemed as if it was an hour to Leo, the door opened. The young man was standing behind it.

"Well, come back in!" said Jason "We have already decided."

Leo walked into the room with a sad face.

"Why the long face?" the white cat said, "You've got the position. Although, we need to teach you speed metal techniques."

Leo was surprised, "Aren't you going to wait for other audtionees?" he asked.

"We've been waiting here for hours and so far there has been only three auditonees including you," the white cat replied, "I don't think more is gonna come."

"Let me introduce you to the band," said the white cat, "I'm Marty Bowman, I'm the lead guitarist and the backup vocalist. I'll be teaching you to play speed metal."

Marty pointed to Jimmy, the ginger cat "This is Jimmy Sawyer, he's the drummer."

"And that is Jason Smith," Marty pointed to the human, "He's our bassist, lead vocalist, string and amplifier technician."

"Meeting dismissed." Jimmy said, packing his stuff and walked out of the room.

"Tomorrow we're going to meet up with each other here, Leo," said Marty, walking out of the room, "Class starts at 8:30 A.M., don't be late."

"Good luck, and try to get on Marty's good side." said Jason, patting Leo's shoulders before leaving the room.

Leo followed him and walked out of the door, happy that he was accepted into the band. Leo ran to his apartment in joy. When he arrived, he was wet and sweaty.

"What the hell have you been doing?" Aeris asked,

"I've just auditioned for Hellkatz," Leo answered, panting and out of breath, "I got the job."

"Hellkatz?" Aeris asked for a confirmation, "You mean the band that put advertisement posters all over the place?"

"Yeah, that one." Leo answered her,

"The one with that buff ginger and that Asian jerk?"

"I'm pretty sure, that that's the one." Leo answered,

"The one that promised bitches and free grades?" she asked Leo again,

Leo simply nodded,

"And have you asked them how are they going to deliver your grades, exactly?" Aeris posed a question.

"Oh." Leo exclaimed, "I'm such a jackass!"

"There you go!" Aeris said.

"Well I think I'm still going to play in the band." Leo made up his mind.

"That's your choice." Aeris said, apathetically.

Leo didn't care if his faith in the band was misplaced; this was his dream since he was a kitten, and he has an intention to pursue it.

**We'll see if Leo fulfills his dream or not.**


	3. Chapter 3 First Day of The Lessons

**Chapter 3 – First Day of the Lessons  
**

Leo woke up in the morning. He took a peep at his watch; it was ten past eight. "Holy shit! I'm late!" he yelled, and shot out of bed, speeding to the bathroom. He twisted the knob, but it didn't turn.

And a voice answered him from inside of the bathroom: "What the hell do you think you're doing, Leo?" said the voice, "Wait your turn!"

Aeris was using the shower.

Leo felt stressed, and ran back into his room to change his clothes and hurry to the school. He took another peep at his watch; it was a quarter past eight, he had another fifteen minutes before his lesson with Marty starts. So he ran out of his apartment, down the stairs.

There was a huge traffic jam; thus he ran the distance of three kilometers from the apartment to his school within fifteen minutes. When he arrived at the school's studio he was tired, and his legs gave way beneath him; and he fell to his knees right before the door. Tired and spent, he knocked the door; nobody answered so he opened the door and entered; no one was there. He consulted his watch; it was exactly 8.40. Leo was wroth; he had spent his energy running three straight kilometers just to get here on time, but Marty wasn't there.

Leo sat in the room waiting for Marty. He whipped out his iPod to listen to Avenged Sevenfold. After an hour, Marty finally came. He rushed into the room, giving an apology before he even stepped beyond the door: "Sorry, I'm late; goddamned traffics."

But that wasn't enough for Leo; he nearly died of exhaustion just to get to the studio on time: "That's it?" He yelled, "I ran three straight clicks within a quarter of an hour just to find that you're late! You told me to be on time for fuck's sake!"

Marty stepped into the room with Jason behind him; he was indifferent to Leo's outburst: "Leo, I don't command the fucking traffic." he said, and sat down on a chair while Jason sets up the electronics. Marty opened a can of coca-cola and took a big gulp, he let out a sigh as he finished.

"What are you listening to?" Marty asked, taking notice of Leo's iPod.

Seeing no harm in answering truthfully, Leo held the iPod up to show the words "Afterlife – A7X" to Marty.

"I want to be as good as Syn is." said Leo, "He's a real guitar god."

Marty laughed at Leo's opinion, Leo felt slightly insulted by this: "Syster Gays?" Marty asked, laughing, "A guitar god?"

Marty laughed loudly until he was out of breath. Leo felt uncomfortable and insulted by Marty's behavior. Finally, Marty stopped laughing and said on a serious note: "Seriously, you look up to this guy?" Marty asked, "Becker, Friedman, Vai, Satch and a hundred or so other guitarists could kill him with one note." **(A/N: If A7X is your favorite band, I apologize for sharing my opinion; but it's the truth)**

Leo was fuming; he restrained himself from punching that arrogant prick in the face by remembering the fact that Marty is his key to salvation. "Boy, he better keep his end of the bargain." Leo thought, and he would've asked, if he wasn't wroth from Marty's delay and scorn.

No sooner had Leo's wrath abated than Jason finished setting up the electronics.

"All done." said Jason, making the last adjustments to the Marshall amplifier. Marty walked across the room to receive the guitars from Jason.  
"Here, take the Kelly," said Marty, handing a blue Jackson Kelly to Leo, "Are you ready to learn?"

Leo, holding the most beautiful guitar that he has ever seen, felt like a rockstar already and his anger, already abated, was gone; answered: "I was born ready."

Marty simply grins and said: "Good, Jason will be teaching you the basics."

Leo was surprised. Up to that moment, he was under the assumption that Marty would be the one teaching him the techniques.  
"I know the basics; I've taken classes when I was in primary school." said Leo, "In fact, all I need is to practice 'till I'm faster, and the only things I need to learn are the techniques that I need to employ."

Marty set his paw to his forehead; if only that idiot had let him finish briefing Leo his plans. "Alright, you want to know the techniques?" he said, "Try to play along."

And Marty started shredding; Phrygian runs along with bends and sweep picked arpeggios. The lick sounded like classical music to Leo, and he was entranced by Marty's skills; each note that he hit were clean, and the melodies were sweet. Marty was by no means the best guitarist Leo has seen, but this display has destroyed all doubt Leo had about Marty being pretentious.

The lick ended with a Ddim chord. Marty leaned forward and gave Leo a cocky look, "That will be the techniques _I_ will use," he said, "You, however, should stick to fast powerchords rhythmic melodies and, of course, entertaining the crowd."

"But," Marty added, "If you learn quickly, I might teach you a few techniques."

At this point, Jason —who was almost forgotten by the two— spoke: "So, are you ready to learn techniques and tips from me, Leo?"

Leo was eager to learn, he wanted this since he was a kitten.

"Yes, sensei, I shall learn from you." he said, making a bow. And Jason donned a black ESP guitar, teaching Leo the importance of the rhythm guitarist role, and teaching him techniques such as the spider chord that can help him play faster. During the lesson, Marty was using Pro Tools to record and experiment with techniques. At half past eleven, Marty told Leo and Jason that he would go out for a walk, and he left the room. Leo's lesson with Jason continued until they took a break and had instant noodles for lunch.

Marty had gone to McDonald's for a hamburger. On his way back, he had pondered on what to do with Leo. Leo sure had the skills; all he actually needed was practice.

But if Leo would be the frontman as planned, he had to teach Leo how to play neoclassical so he could show off to the crowd. But Marty knew that it wouldn't be easy; as classical music requires a lifetime of devotion, and Leo was already devoted to video games.

He pondered over the decision whether to teach Leo or not as he paced the school corridors. Finally, he came to a decision. Marty rushed back to the studio. He was only a few yards from the door when he heard the sound of distorted guitars.

He opened to door to see Jason and Leo having a good time and playing AC/DC's _Hell's Bells_.

Jason was a bit surprised at Marty's coming and reported the lesson to him: "He's pretty good," said Jason, "I'm sure he can play your songs."

To that, Marty replied with a grin: "Good, now scoot over," he said "I'm gonna teach him myself."

**Thankfully, this story is unlikely to derail, as I have written the main plot down in a text file. Do you want to know why these chapters are taking so long to write? It's because I have to sit through guitar lessons to see what the tutors say about each techniques. Yes people, even though I can do a lot of techniques, I don't know how to teach them myself.**


End file.
